Someone like View


Casually I walk into my cycle store to get some accessories. I observe several persons glued to a screen on the wall. Hey, I thought India was playing that nail-biting match on Sunday! no?. As my curious sight fixate on the screen to get a grip of the excitement, I recognize it was a CCTV camera. A young guy in a red tee walks back and forth next to a car standing outside the store. Play. Rewind. Play. Perfect. This is a busy main road. On mute, apparently everybody appears to mind their own business, moving in their respective directions, as cars, two wheelers, animals and trains whisk past back and forth on the screen. At one point a man points out "Wahi Wahi hai". Like a soap opera on television, my interest intensifies.

 A young boy maybe in his twenties walked towards the car from a distance of approximately 100 meters. Appearing casually at first, he then surreptitiously scrutinizes the road. The world is too busy to notice him ignorant in their unfettered world. Calm at first and increasingly picking up momentum, The man's brisk act takes less than two minutes. The spectators stretch their necks towards the screen as if it was possible to catch a glimpse of what the man is up to on the other side of the car. Two seconds later he walks away with the bounty in his hand, proud but nervous."Cha yaar, There was a lot of information in that laptop. I had an interview presentation to make". The guy who was zooming his camera lens said to man next to him shaking his head in self-denial. The thief had stolen his laptop by breaking his car's window pane with an unidentifiable object. "Madam yeh sab hota rehta hai". The owner of the cycle store standing next to me explains. I nodded my head with considerate empathy. A few minutes later the show was over. 

 As i get ready to leave glancing at the asymmetrically smashed window, the man's hope bore a striking resemblance. Pedaling on the same busy road, my mind drifted to the number of times I may have forgotten to return a book that I had borrowed, forgotten to pay back that loan of Rs 10 to the trusting sabji-wala on the next day, taken a few extra sheets of printing paper from office because it didn't matter to me. The number of times I casually insulted a friend's partner because I didn't think he was worth it. Of course, I never did some of those things on purpose. But, it's also true that we sometimes we forget that everything doesn't hold the same value as we see them to be.The man wasn't concerned about the value of the laptop at all, it seemed. It was his presentation and a possible job that he could have landed. The book that I borrowed may have been precious gift from somebody. The Rs 10 I forgot to give the Sabji-wala may have added to his rations. Yes, I made assumptions that it's okay. But sometimes, I need to stop interpreting assumptions as facts. Maybe, I'll slightly adjust my perception len, twist it clockwise and anti-clockwise till I've got the whole picture. Till I see anew.
 P.s Never forget to take your laptop and valuables before leaving your car parked on a busy road. Especially when you have an interview presentation to make. Because you know...after all... "Yeh sab hota rehta hai".




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